Tuscany

Setting off from England in November 2012, we travelled fairly rapidly southwards, stopping at various Aires until we reached Sicily, with one detour to hot springs we had read about in Tuscany. A rather basic, rutted campsite adjoined, from where people walked in towelling gowns the few hundred metres to the water, which tumbled over rocks as it descended steeply down the hillside. About 30 minutes was a much as we could stand!

Sicily

Arriving on the island of Sicily by ferry to Messina, we intended on this, our third visit, to revisit old haunts and hopefully find new ones, eventually whiling away 5 pleasant months.

First stop was Giardini Naxos, which is an excellent base for walking, cycling and sight-seeing. We stopped at Parking Largani, a well-run camperstop close to all amenities. Naxos, a quiet seaside town, is a cheaper base than its more famous neighbour, Taormina, towering above the bay. Even higher is the small village of Castelmola. Both are accessible by steep path or along a winding road (either cycle or catch the local bus). Another local bus service takes one hour to reach Catania where the local fish market and ancient market square are vibrant and interesting.

Days passed very pleasantly; soon it was Christmas and 6 of us enjoyed an excellent lunch at a local restaurant, to be repeated on New Year's Day. Eateries abound in Naxos - pizzerias, trattorias and restaurants, all good value and serving excellent local produce.

Car hire (about €40 a day) enabled exploration further afield – Mt Etna with its lava slopes; Savoca, location of 'The Godfather' film (while there, visit the catacombs below the Cappuccini monastery with its mummified bodies); or just meander along the coast to soak up the slow pace of Sicilian life. We also circumnavigated Etna by train - actually a rather tedious, long day.

Then it was time to move south to Pozzallo, where we left our van at Salvamar camperstop to take the ferry over to Malta for a week. What a wonderful time we had. An excellent hotel booked on the internet gave us views across to Valetta and the local bus service took us all over the island and Gozo. In fact, bad weather cancelled our return ferry and we eventually stayed for 10 days. No hardship!

We actually stayed at Pozzallo for 7 weeks, as the slow pace of life made one day blend into another. There were very few tourists and the camperstop owner often grilled local fish for lunch. Mmm!

Eventually, we tore ourselves away – back to being sightseeing tourists. We booked into the campsite at Agrigento and cycled to the Valley of the Temples – little can be added to the guide book descriptions of a wonderful avenue of well-preserved Greek temples.

Next stop was our favourite in all of Sicily – Sciacca.  A working fishing port, with a strong Arabic influence to its architecture, well worth exploring . Or just watching the boats unloading their hauls of fish and bartering for some of the catch.

As on previous occasions, we joined a few campervans parked on the harbour and ate the best lunches ever at Trattoria La Vela and Trattoria Al Faro (Al Faro seemed to be more popular with the local population). A set meal of a fish feast: several anti-pasti dishes, seafood spaghetti, chargrilled fish and fresh fruit desert, including wine, water and coffee at €25 per head. Wonderful.

Eventually, our services depleted, we had to move on, stopping briefly at Selinunte to visit the 2 linked archaeological sites - one a temple, the other the remains of an acropolis. We chose the local campsite but vans did park overnight in the car park adjoining the site.

Our next stop was Marsala, a charming small town famous for its fortified wine, in the centre of the main wine growing region (the southwest corner of Sicily produces more wine than the whole of Chile). In fact we stayed on an official stop in the main car park for a week, travelling from here along the coast to the ancient site of Mozia and inland to the hilltop village of Erice.

Mozia, situated on a small island surrounded by the salt pans of Trapani, is reached by an even smaller ferry – in fact the ferry ride is probably more exciting than exploring the site!

Erice, on the other hand, is well worth exploring, although the wind was so strong when we arrived that we scuttled back to Marsala for the night, rather than staying atop the hill at the official camperstop.

Next stopping place – Segesta –is the ancient site of an unfinished temple and amphitheatre overlooking the valley below. Our first day of Spring-like weather made this a pleasant walk – 20 minutes uphill, although there is a shuttle bus every 30 minutes (€1.50).

On to Palermo. Leaving our van in secure parking only 500 m from Piazza Indepenza, we unloaded the bikes … what an experience!  In the 100 km we had cycled on Sicily during this trip, this was the most hair-raising – motorised transport and pedestrians … all seemed to meander at will. However, it was well worth it – the markets were the best of many excellent markets we had encountered - narrow streets filled with stalls selling fish, vegetables, meat, fruit, sundry wares … bustling and vibrant. Finishing the day with a sticky bun (brioche) filled with delicious ice-cream (wow), we were sorry to leave.

Our last stop was to be Oliveri, where we hoped to leave the van and travel to the volcanic Aeolian Islands. However, the campsite had amenities not found elsewhere on Sicily … 16 amp electricity, hot water for showers, toilet seats AND soft toilet rolls. Also, Oliveri is a delightful small town with good shops and restaurants, including a wet fish shop which cooks its fish on weekend evenings. The plastic tablecloths, knives and forks more than compensated for by excellent fresh grilled fish. Mmm!

We also cycled and walked (on separate occasions!) to the archaeological site of Tindari - a 2 mile challenging footpath for walkers (or for cyclists a 5 mile winding road), as well as walking the sandy spit with miles of unspoilt beaches.

Unfortunately these points, combined with excellent weather, prolonged our stay into 2 weeks and we never did get to the Aeolian Islands. Soon it was time to start our homeward journey north.

Venice

As is our usual habit, we spent a few days at Venice, stopping at the rather expensive but convenient camperstop on the island itself. Armed with a 4 day travel card we explored all corners of the main “island”, thoroughly being tourists, and revisited the glass (Murano) and the lace (Burano) islands offshore, calling in at the cemetery island (San Michele) en route.  

Cycling in France

With a few weeks left before our return ferry to England, we then headed northwest into the Central Massif of France, stopping for a week at Le Puy en Velay where we visited the cathedral on one Puy (volcanic mound) and a statue of the Madonna on another. We cycled along a disused track (now one of the hundreds of voies vertes (tracks for non-motorised transport across France) and sat out a horrendous storm.

Then we had intended to cycle along a voie verte following the River Lot but, starting at Cahors, we found it was generally just a marked-off section of ordinary road with quite heavy traffic. So, after a rethink and a few more miles, we thought we would continue to cycle along the Canal des Deux Mers, which connects Beziers on the Mediterranean with Bordeaux on the Atlantic.

The Canal du Midi was designed in the 17th century to connect Beziers toToulouse, from where the canal/river system of the Garonne flows to Bordeaux on the Atlantic. This was to avoid the danger of transporting cargo and trade around southern Spain where pirates were common. In the 20th century, pleasure boats replaced the commercial barges and the towpaths became a voie verte.

The plane trees which line almost the complete route give dappled shade. They were originally planted (42,000 of them!) to stabilize the banks but now, nearly 300 years later, a wilt infection has destroyed about 2,500 and it is estimated that they will all need replacing within 20 years.

It is a popular cycling route – 275 miles of scenic, fairly level, mainly off-road cycling with a rise of only 190 metres at its highest point (Seuil de Narouze), where a clever system feeds the canal system with continuous water. Our intention was to hop from Aire to Aire, cycling selected parts of this route.

Our stops were at Carcassonne, Montferrand, Castelsarrasin, Buzet-sur-Baise, Villeton and Fontet. We made these choices mainly because there was an official Aire on or near the canal, but also to see aqueducts, multiple locks or other things which interested us from the literature we picked up from various tourist offices.

Highlights for us were:

Carcassonne - touristy but atmospheric.

Seuil de Narouze – the highest point where a complicated system feeds water to the canal. Explanation boards line a circular walk which was very interesting, although the cycling was less than exciting: westwards towards Toulouse where the last of the asphalt-lined path ran alongside a motorway; or eastwards where narrow, rough tracks make cycling difficult.

Castelnaudary to Bram – a rare section of the Canal du Midi which was easily cyclable. As we had been advised, the path here was excellent, a lovely day's ride, cycling into Bram for lunch. This interesting village is built on a circular system around the church, originally for security – rather like the wagon trains in western films!

Castelsarrasin - the section between  the aqueduct and town of Moissac, where the River Tarn joins the Garonne and Montech, and a spectacular lifting system came into service in 1974 to bypass 5 locks, cutting the journey time for barges from 45 to 20 minutes. This lift broke down some 3 years ago and will not be back in operation until 2016, so it is back to the 5 locks in 45 minutes for the canal traffic.

Castets-en-Dorthe - where the canal joins the River Garonne, about 30 miles from Bordeaux. It was quite exciting to see the quiet canal dropping down via a double lock into the fast-flowing river. Rarely used nowadays, since canal boats are not allowed through.

Our lasting impressions are of tree-lined canal paths, cycling in dappled shade and the friendliness of everyone we met - fishermen, fellow cyclists, walkers, joggers, boaters - all offered a cheery 'Bonjour'.   We saw buzzards, deer, red squirrel, muskrat, heron … but very few water fowl, which surprised us. Explanation boards are periodically displayed, as are kilometre markers; also each lock gives distances to the next lock in each direction. Whether a long-distance cycle ride is anticipated or just a few days of easy cycling, this canal has everything for a pleasant ride. While the Canal de Garonne is better surfaced and better route-marked, the Canal du Midi wins hands-down for scenery. Take your pick!

Also, the people we met:

 … the Norwegian family with a 3 month old baby and 2½ year old toddler, travelling behind their parents on baby carriers, together with a multitude of camping gear (including one pannier stuffed with disposable nappies!)

… the German woman leading a horse. She was searching for work, leaving Kaiserslautern in Germany the previous autumn and currently heading towards Bordeaux. She had no tent, sleeping under the stars unless she found stables, and was surviving on donations

… the English couple running a hotel barge on what they described as 'the hidden gem of France' – the section between Montech and Agen. Who were we to argue?

After a few less than exciting days in Bordeaux we headed northwards for our last few miles of travel, finding the lovely, unspoilt town of Redon – known as the crossroads of Brittany where the Brest Nantes Canal runs east-west across the river running north-south. A delightful final few days in an unspoilt small French market town.

Now … where to next winter?